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Stella Maris

powerful literary fiction from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author

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About this listen

A profound exploration of the nature of reality and the human mind, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Road and No Country for Old Men.

'A drought-busting, brain-vexing double act’ – Guardian

Alicia Western is the following: Twenty years old. A brilliant mathematician at the University of Chicago. And a paranoid schizophrenic who does not want to talk about her brother, Bobby.

Told entirely through the transcripts of Alicia’s psychiatric sessions, Cormac McCarthy's Stella Maris is a moving companion to The Passenger. It is a powerful enquiry that questions our notions of God, truth, and life itself.

‘Cormac McCarthy was such a virtuoso, his language was so rich and new . . . his books were terrifying and absolute. His sentences were astonishing.’ - Anne Enright

 Family Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Fiction

Critic reviews

Remarkable… a staggering achievement
His sentences have the solidity of stones and the clarity of diamonds
A true work of literature… If McCarthy’s goal was for these books to haunt readers long after they are set aside, then he has succeeded.
Remarkable… [Stella Maris] harmonises both sadly and gorgeously with its recent predecessor. Side by side, both novels affirm the extraordinary poetry and strangeness of McCarthy’s vision
Like Bach’s concertos, these triumphant novels depart the realm of art and encroach upon science, aimed at some Platonic point beyond our reckoning where all spheres converge
Great additions to McCarthy's already outstanding oeuvre and proof that the mind of one of our greatest living writers is as sharp as it has ever been.
All stars
Most relevant
This book was very enjoyable and it provided alot of context retrospectively to the the previous book in the duology 'the Passenger'

I almost enjoyed this book more as it was alot more focused and alot less meandering than 'the passenger'

There was alot more character exploration of one of the two main characters in the mini series which we didn't get to see in the previous book.

I thought the book being a series of interviews worked really well as a plot device as well as a general format.

McCarthy unapologetically wrestles with alot of deep scientific, religious and philosophical questions in this book without 'dumbing the subject matter down' for the reader which assumes a certain level of intelligence on the subjects. This was nice in some places as the reader, because you don't feel patronised, but in other parts the content was quite complex and involved which made concentrated listening essential (not necessarily a bad thing).

The narration for this audiobook is honestly some of the best I've heard. It was almost like listening to a high quality theatre production! Excellent casting and brilliant chemistry between the two narrators.

Excellent supplement

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Beautiful swan song. Great performances, great story, a perfect ending to a great writers work.

Take my hand

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If this is his final novel then McCarthy has chosen to say goodbye by showing us that there is beauty and wonder, even in the bleakest depths of the human experience. The novel is presented as a series of transcripts and therefore almost entirely a dialogue, between Alicia Western, (whose brother is the central character in McCarthy’s The Passenger), and her psychiatrist. The conversations (perfectly performed by Julia Whelan and Edoardo Ballerini) between the pair range across themes familiar in McCarthy’s work - violence, cruelty, grief, incest, but also explore ideas his characters have rarely ever had a chance to ponder openly - mathematics, quantum physics, linguistics, the mysteries of consciousness, hallucination, dream - with Alicia being revealed as at times dishonest and manipulative and at others, blunt, open and profoundly honest.

I understood the exploration of her lonely existence as McCarthy’s way of painting in micro, the paradox of human experience - the beauty even in the most devastating places that our minds can take us. The longing to be rid of it and the acknowledgment that without it, we are not truly human. At one point there’s a short discussion of the comfort that can be derived in knowing that we can commit suicide, at another of hallucinated “familiars” becoming companions.

I could go on for ever about this novel, I listened to it in one sitting. and will listen many more times.
Like The Road, this is a bleak, unnerving and deeply humane book. Alicia is flawed and often unlikable whilst being deeply sympathetic and ultimately, just like the rest of us, fearful of what it means to exist and and fearful of ceasing to exist also.

The end of something.

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I listened the passenger (which I now plan to relisten to) a few months ago, and I liked but, didn't quite love it. This however, I did love. I haven't read/listened to anything that hit quite as hard as this for some time. Maybe it is a little self-indulgent, but the conversations between the two characters are so captivating, that I really didn't care. It left my head spinning for some time after.

In terms of the narration and production, I can't think of a better audiobook. Both narrators are fantastic. I also loved how the ending was punctuated with a piece of music, that was significant to the protagonist and mentioned earlier in the book - Really nice touch.

I cannot recommend this enough, though it absolutely is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea - but if it sounds like yours, I think you'll really like it.

Captivating

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Never tire of listening or learning from this book
Listen to what they say and study what they say
Girl juice what a line

Stella Marris

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